(CNN) - With Congress grappling over gun legislation, Vice President Joe Biden vowed to continue fighting for a ban on semi-automatic firearms modeled after military assault weapons, despite its bleak future on Capitol Hill.

"I am still pushing that it pass," Biden said Wednesday on NPR. "We are still pushing that it pass."FULL POST

(CNN) - With another big deadline looming this summer over raising the limit on how much money the government can borrow to pay its bills, Washington could find itself embroiled in new fiscal gridlock.

If talks on the so-called debt limit falter, the government could default on its obligations. That could lead to a series of financial and political consequences.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - First lady Michelle Obama and first dog Bo brought a basket filled with White House Easter Egg Roll tickets to military families Wednesday at the Fisher House, home for recovering military veterans and their families, in Bethesda, MD.

(CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he supports stronger enforcement of the current background check system, not a new one, as Congress works to push through legislation aimed at combating gun violence.

His comments signal an uphill battle for gun legislation in the Republican-controlled House.FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 20, 2013 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

ALL OPTIONS: Obama and Netanyahu talk tension with Iran… President Barack Obama said at a press conference on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “all options are on the table” regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, adding that “we will do what is necessary in preventing Iran from getting the world's worst weapons.”

CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN SYRIA: President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the Syrian government's “use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people would be a serious and tragic mistake,” adding that Damascus “will be held for accountable for the use of chemical weapons or their transfer to terrorists.”

AMERICAN BOUNTY: The State Department has put a multimillion-dollar bounty on the heads of two Americans who the United States claims belong to an al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, CNN has learned. – Elise Labott

Washington (CNN) – The Senate approved legislation on Wednesday that would fund the government through the end of September and avoid a partial federal shutdown as well as soften the blow of sweeping spending cuts.

The measure, which passed the chamber in a 73-26 vote, now advances to the House of Representatives.FULL POST

(CNN) – When President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were in flight on separate airplanes Tuesday night, House Speaker John Boehner was the highest-ranking elected official on American soil for about half an hour.

Should something have gone terribly wrong in that short span of time, Boehner, who's behind only the vice president in the presidential line of succession, could have potentially become president.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - A top House conservative involved in bipartisan immigration negotiations said Wednesday that he supports a process that allows undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to ultimately become U.S. citizens.

Idaho Rep Raul Labrador told reporters "What I think should happen is anyone who is here illegally can come out of the shadows, become legalized in some way, have some legal status, and that status could lead to legal permanent residency and citizenship eventually - but just the same as anybody else who falls into that category."FULL POST